Ok so I had typed this all up including the story behind my choosing to paint the top myself but it some how logged me out and erased it when I logged back in :mad:

long story short manager of the shop that was going ot paint my fastback when they saw pics of it(and my car in person with oem top for size reference points) quoted me a great price of 350 out the door in cash showed it to them in person and all of a sudden wanted almost TRIPLE (900) what he originally told me so I told him to fuck off :rolleyes:

my plan is:-paint the top-paint the trunk-paint the GV lip-respray the front bumper after I shave the emblem (thanks for re-enforcing that idea Mr. Woolery )-lightly fade the paint into the fenders/hood

so here is my next main question if I go through with this which I probably will, how much paint will I need? I don't want to have too much extra since it is fairly expensive(20 for the spray cans and 45 or 80 depending on the size of the ready to spray with a gun

wouldn't mind spraying with the spray cans to save on the gun since all the reviews seem to be nothing but positive on small parts(mainly front lips, spoilers or side mirrors) but I'd prefer to try and paint with a gun for better quality results on much bigger parts and quicker painting

Interesting, I'm in just about the same situation as you. I need to paint my hard top, windshield frame, and GV lip. My car is red and I'm planning on painting them all black since I don't want to deal with matching the 15 year old red paint.

I also have a 50 gallon compressor, hoses, and a 2 car garage, but not a paint gun. I actually have one I can borrow from my father in law that's brand new.

My experience painting is limited, I've only painted one car but I had a friend who's a professional walk me through the process.

I was planning on buying the paint that you have to mix and spray with a gun, but if the aerosol cans work well, then I might try that. I remember when we sprayed the one car I painted the guy that helped me spent time adjusting all of the settings to get the paint flow correct. He adjusted the pressure out of the tank, the nozzle pressure and spray pattern, and he also had 3 moisture filters in the air line. He said that you have to be really careful to make sure you don't let any moisture through the air line or it will jack up your paint big time. Once it was adjusted, I sprayed the car and it came out great. So the only part I'm nervous about this time is adjusting the gun, pressure, and all that stuff. With an aerosol can you wouldn't have to worry about any of that stuff, you could just spray it.

Anyways, I'm curious to hear which way you end up deciding to go and why. Good luck!

I've changed my mind about painting my hard top and windshield frame black. I went to a store yesterday that sells automotive paint and it's going to be WAY more than I thought it was going to cost. Plus, to change the color I'd have to pry my seals back all the way around my windshield and rear window, and I might possibly have to buy new ones.

Anyways, so I'm just going to buy a few cans of the red touch up paint and just paint the hard top. That will be much cheaper and way less of a pain.

I've painted a few items using the aerosoles. (are pkg lip, rear finish panel, front lip, and a few misc things here and there.) the paint match was pretty spot on. But the paint is pretty soft. So I'd recommend numerous layers. Ilm leaning towards buying the quarts for the spray gun once I get the fastback. As it would most likely be cheaper in the long run. I read on m.net people use about one gallon to cover the whole car with a little left over. Look on revlimiter's project build. He has a review on the paint when he did his rockers.

I'm planning on ordering my paint really soon. I got a bunch of estimates from people that advertise on craigs list, but without much luck. Their ads say they can repaint a whole bumper or body panel for a few hundred bucks but when I get estimates from them they quote me 3 - 4 times what they have in their ad.

I guess I have no other choice but to do it myself. I'll be ordering my paint this week. How many cans of base and clear do you think I'll need to shoot my hard top?

I ended up buying some of the paint from this site and spraying my hardtop myself. It turned out pretty dang nice! The color was spot on, the only hard part was the finishing work. But I knew it was coming since I used rattle can clear coat. After 1000, 1500, and 2000 sand paper, then rubbing and polishing compounds, it shines as good as the rest of my paint, which is all I could have asked for.